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| Sarojini Naidu's Poem: Awake—Summary and Critical Analysis |
Summary of the Poem "Awake":
Stanza-1
Word-Meanings:
1. Waken = to become roused from sleep; to remain awake for some purpose, duty etc. 2. Children = Indians, sons of Mother India. 3. Implore = request earnestly. 4. Thee = the objective and dative case of thou. 5. Kneel = go down on the knees. 6. Adore = to pay divine honour to, worship. 7. Aflush = glows, shines. 8. The night...of the morrow = there is a promise of hopeful to-morrow in the darkness of night to-day. There remains darkness before the dawn. The darkness of the night of slavery will soon be over as the bright and cheerful morning of freedom is imminent. 9. Bondage = ties of sorrow and slavery. 10. Sever = to divide into parts, esp. forcibly; cleave. 11. Enthralls = captivates. 12. Hallow = make holy. 13. Triumphs = glorious victories. 14. That call us = that we are to achieve in the near future.
Paraphrase:
The poetess is invoking the slumbers of motherland. Addressing motherland, she appeals her to wake up from a long sleep of suffering and sorrow. Due to being under the chain of slavery of British rule for a long period, the motherland is in a state of deep sleep and needs to be awakened to revive her former state of glory and greatness. Under the tyrannical British rule, the motherland has also lost her chastity and moral dignity. Now the appropriate time has arrived to set her free, so she should wake up. Her children pray and worship her. She should listen to the prayer of children. The dark night of slavery is going to be over. Its darkness is already bright with hope of freedom. The poetess asks if she would continue to sleep in her bondage of sorrow. She must now rise up and break the chains of slavery which trouble her children. Their hands are to be purified by her so that they might be prompted to undertake more and more deeds of victory and triumphs.
Stanza-2
Word-Meanings:
1. Are we...thine = they are true children of their motherland. 2. Belov'd = the mother country is visualised as one whom her children, the inhabitants of India love her intensely. 3. The manifold pride...spirit = they are hers and as such they rightfully share in the manifold pride and powers of her spirit. 4 Ne'er shall...thee = her children will never fail to protect her. 5. Forsake thee = they take vow not to leave or to give up their motherland. 6. Falter = they will not feel hesitant to show their devotion for her. 7. Whose hearts...home = their hearts are her abode. 8. Thy shield...altar = they are her shield with which they would protect her. They are her altar at which they would worship her. 9. Thrill the high…story = the tale of her glory will be sung by them, the echo of which will reach the high stars who would simply be thrilled by it. 10. Set = place. 11. In the forefront of glory = in the front line of glorious and great nations.
Paraphrase:
According to the poetess, the children of the motherland are invoking her to rise from her sound and long sleep and to bless them so that they may succeed in their holy object of setting her free from the chain of slavery under the British rule. The poetess convinces her by depicting children's sincerity to serve her and set her free from the foreign bondage. The poetess says that her children love her very much. They have a great devotion for their motherland. They are her true children. They have inherited her pride, and moral and spiritual strength. They want to preserve these qualities. They will never fail to protect her. They will never desert her. Their hearts are the home of the mother. They are her shield with which they would protect her. They are her altar at which they would worship her. They have vowed to adore, defend and worship their mother. They will sing the tale of her glory, the echo of which will reach even to the stars in the high skies who would simply be thrilled by it. They will make their utmost effort to make her great once again. It is with her help that they will be set again in the forefront of glory.
Stanza-3
Hindus : Mother! the flowers of our worship have crowned thee!
Parsees : Mother! the flame of our hope shall surround thee!
Mussulmans : Mother! the sword of our love shall defend thee!
Christians : Shall not our dauntless devotion avil thee?
Hearken! O queen and O goddess, we hail thee!
Word-Meanings:
1. Crowned = adorned at the head. 2. Flame of our hope = hope is compared to the glow of the flame of fire. 3. Faith = the spirit of their religion. 4. Dauntless devotion = firm devotion. 5. Hearken = listen. Hail = welcome.
Paraphrase in English:
Here the poetess tells us that the people of different religions and communities in India are prepared to serve their motherland with their intense love, devotion and sincerity. They are ready to show their complete faith in her. They assure their mother- land to serve her according to their utmost capabilities. The Hindus convince her that they. will offer flowers at the feet of gods and goddesses. They will also offer flowers to the Mother India. The Parsees assure her that the fire of hope burning in their hearts will be dedicated to her. The Muslims assure her that as they lift the sword of god for the safety of their religion, they will save her with that sword. The Christians convince her that they will show the same devotion and faith in her as they have in Jesus and Mary.
Having assured her to their sincere love, devotion and faith in her, the followers of different religions call upon their motherland, their goddess and queen to listen to their prayer and rise from her current sleep. They will make their utmost efforts to set her free from the chains of slavery under the British rule.
Critical appreciation of the poem “Awake”:
Introduction to the Poem:
The poem “Awake” a patriotic lyric, is the last poem in the part of The Broken Wing entitled Songs of Life and Death. This poem was dedicated to Mohammed Ali Jinnah, a trusted friend of Sarojini Naidu. The poetess recited this poem at the annual session of Indian National Congress in 1915. It is a call for unity and action for the people of India. It is to awake Mother India from her slumber. The worshippers of all religions are brought together to the altar of mother India to herit her as Queen and goddess. The Hindus, The Parsees, The Muslims, The Christian, people of all other creeds besides, are united to raise aloft her glory and honour and see that it is never soiled. All of them have crowned her with flowers, the flame of all their hopes surrounds her, the sword of their love defends her, the songs of their faith attend her, and they all greet her as their queen and goddess and vouchsafe their dauntless devotion to her.
The lyric is a soul-stirring call for unity and action. It is a lyric of hope and firm resolution, and strikes a robust note of optimism.
Theme of the Poem:
The poetess appeals that the people of different religions and communities should be brought together to the altar of Mother India to hail her as Queen and a goddess. United efforts should be made to awaken India from her slumber and emancipate her from British rule in India. All Indians should forget their mutual differences for the attainment of freedom and rise against British tyranny.
Thought-Content:
The poetess describes that the children kneel before the mother to serve and adore her. The children implore the mother to rouse them from their slumber and to cut off the ties of bondage in which they are bound at present. Their hands are to be purified by her so that they might be prompted to undertake more and more deeds of victory and triumph. They are hers and as such they rightfully share in the manifold pride and power of her spirit. They take a vow never to forsake her to falter her, or fail her. Their hearts are, indeed, the home of the mother, they are moreover her shield and her altar. It is with her help that they will be set again in the forefront of glory. The Hindus, Parsees, Mussulmans, Christians, people of all other creeds besides, are united to raise aloft her glory and honour and to see that it is never soiled. The Hindus will worship her as usual. The Parsees will dedicate the fire of hope burning in their hearts to her service. The Mussulmans will defend her with the sword of their love and Christians will wait upon her with all that faith which they have in Jesus and Mary. The followers of different religions call upon her to listen to their prayer and awake from her present slumber. Their united efforts will succeed to set her free from the chains of slavery under the British rule.
A Note of Optimism:
It is a poem of hope and firm resolution, and strikes a robust note of optimism. The people of different religions and communities of India have a great faith, devotion and dedication in their motherland. They hope that with the blessings of their motherland they will succeed to set her free from the bondage of slavery. They are determined to retain their past glory.
The Spirit of Patriotism:
The people of different religions and communities of India have great spirits of patriotism. Addressing their dear and beloved Mother India, they request her to unfold before them her varied pride and power which they will inherit. They pledge never to deceive, fail and forsake her. They will not go astray from the path of duty. They will compose and sing songs which will thrill even the high stars with the glorious story of her splendid past. They will try their best to assure her a great and glorious place.
A Call for Unity and Action:
The lyric is a soul stirring call for unity and action. It came from the heart of the poetess and so goes to the hearts of readers straight. The poetess extends the Vande Matram motif towards a point of universality wherein the Hindu, Parsee, Muslim and Christian faiths are urged to call their united homage to the universal mother.
The Use of Figures of Speech:
The poetess has used the figures of speech to enhance the beauty of the lyric. India and the stars have been personified. We also find the glimpses of Metaphors such as the flames of our hope, the sword of our love, etc. There is also alliteration.
Style and Diction:
The poem is divided into two parts. The first two lines comprise two stanzas and the last six are in the form of an invocation. The images are also used. There is a promise of hopeful tomorrow in the darkness of night to-day. This image vividly conveys that all is not lost. The sufferings and woes of to-day have the promise of a bright and happy future to-morrow; the words are simple but expressive. There is a beautiful rhyming scheme.
